Finishing Burl?


BillyDoubleU

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Using Tung oil. Minwax Tung oil to be persice on Morado. 

I read that going above 220 on regular wood is wasted effort. Does going higher on irregular grain patterned wood like burl help or hinder?

I ask because this set of Morado grips on the left has a couple lines that streak up at the irregular spots. Couldn't see it until a few coats of oil hit it. Is it just not taking the oil as well or too well? 

Should I be sanding with a finer grit between coats or wet sanding? I usually just buff it with a cloth and that does the trick but it's not on this wood. I have sand paper from 80-3000 grit...

i initally sanded this batch to 1000 grit. The red oak to 800 and the more open grain just sucks up finish. I'm finding this Morado leaves more oil beaded up. Possible due to its higher oil content perhaps? 

Interested in your thoughts. 

IMG_6161.JPG

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I think you are right to sand those pieces to higher grits than we normally use for furniture. A hand grip feels better if the wood is polished, rather than having a polished film over it.

Not familiar with the morado, it sure looks nice. A common method for helping finishes adhere to oily wood is to wipe it down with acetone first.

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The higher grit you sand to, the more you start to burnish the surface which can inhibit penetration of the finish.

Minwax tung oil is not actually tung oil...it's either a diluted varnish or an oil/varnish blend.  Either way it has varnish in it so after a few coats you will start to build a tiny film and you will no longer be feeling the wood but the finish itself.  So I would treat it like any other wiping varnish, applying 3-4 coats and sanding with 320 then 500 grit between coats, then polishing with 1000 grit after it cures.

If you were using a true oil I would probably sand the raw wood to 320 then wipe on a few coats...but Minwax tung oil is not a true oil.

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1 hour ago, wdwerker said:

So much better stuff available these days. Minwax finishes are at least 50 year old technology. General Finishes has a pretty good line of stains,dyes and top coats. A lot of it is water bourne and works very well.

Recommendations for a good Tung oil/wiping varnish that finishes well that isn't 100% pure and take a month to cure?

Will typically be used on pistol grips. I have Truoil as well but everyone like the Tung oil finish best. 

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7 hours ago, BillyDoubleU said:

Tung oil/wiping varnish

This is really two different things: there's tung oil, then there's wiping varnish.  One has nothing to do with the other unless you mix them together.

Minwax has no business putting the words "tung oil" on that can.  Honestly I don't know how they can even get away with it legally...maybe because they add the word "finish" at the end.  It's not tung oil.  Has no tung oil in it.  Has nothing to do with tung oil.

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16 hours ago, Eric. said:

This is really two different things: there's tung oil, then there's wiping varnish.  One has nothing to do with the other unless you mix them together.

Minwax has no business putting the words "tung oil" on that can.  Honestly I don't know how they can even get away with it legally...maybe because they add the word "finish" at the end.  It's not tung oil.  Has no tung oil in it.  Has nothing to do with tung oil.

Well that's disappointing. 

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I've never used anything but Tru Oil on gunstocks, or grips, and don't have a good reason to use anything else.   You can even buy it in the Walmart gun section.   I think it does have Tung oil in it, but might be wrong.  I'm sure you can find all sorts of youtube videos on how to use it.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/341661-what-happened-tru-oil.html

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Tru Oil is a refined linseed oil.  Have used it for many years on gunstocks and other wood items.  I don't recall it having tung oil but I would check the manufacturer's website for more info.  Just checked the label- linseed oil and natural oils, which could be anything.  The company is Birchwood Laboratories, FYI.

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I have multiple bottles of Truoil. But folks prefer the Tung oil finish of those I've asked. 

 

I ended up sanding off the top coat. Wasn't looking good. The more open pored wood took a nice gloss coat. These were not. So guess what? 

I started to wipe off the excess after a few minutes. Now I'm getting a very nice satin finish. Which I prefer anyway. 

Either way, learning...

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